1/31/2016

Let me start by saying I AM SO FREAKING DISAPPOINTED. I am not going to beat around the bush. I am saying this flat out: I WAITED MONTHS FOR THE THIRD BOOK AND THIS IS IT?? From a strong start to a weak ending??? THIS IS WHY I HAVE TRUST ISSUES.

Never Never in a nutshell is about Charlie and Silas, highschool seniors who wake up one day not remembering a thing about themselves and the people around them. No names, no memories. They managed to retain some things though. Silas still knows how to work a camera while Charlie still has her infinite love for books. Together they attempt to uncover the mystery behind their sudden memory loss while trying to navigate through everyday life as the Charlie and Silas they know nothing about.

To be clear, I really did enjoy Never Never part one. The writing appealed to me in every way. The descriptions, the transition, the romance, the mystery — it was all very satisfying despite the short length of the book. It made me crave the next books like crazy. And I'm not even a CoHo fan!

Part two was pretty much the same except we get a bit more questions and a few answers. I was happy that they were finally getting somewhere on learning the truth! Why did they loose their memories? Who took it? Are any of the people in their lives involved in it somehow?! Is this a paranormal book?!!?!

The answer, my dearies, is that it is not. It's not anything. Part three left me frustrated and angry. I felt like I got even more questions than answers in the final instalment of the book. It's a lazy ending, in my opinion. The worst part is that the last book seemed so disconnected to the first two. It went from being intense and mysterious to just plain SAPPY. Like, everything is gonna work out! We'll be fine! Even their siblings started dating towards the end. WTF was that? No need to fill the book with one too many happy endings. Ughhhhhhh I CAN'T EVEN. I try to avoid using that expression as much as I can but it's highly appropriate here. I would've preferred a totally crazy explanation than a rather underwhelming one. With an ending like that, did they really need to stretch it out to three books?

1/29/2016

That is probably the most self-explanatory title I used on the blog. Okay, so put you recs in the comments below! I'm done here. Bye.

OF COURSE I'M NOT DONE!

I grew up reading contemporary books. I remember loving Sweet Valley High and a bunch of books I vaguely remember but can recall enjoying. This appreciation for the genre stayed with me in my teen years and now in my early 20's. Contemporary books simply don't get old! I think it's impossible to not, at least, like it.

Here's dilemma 1 of 2: There's something about contemporary books that entices me and bores me at the same time. The thing I love most about contemporary books, especially in young adult, is that it gives me a peek into the lives of other people. I can't be the only one who finds comfort knowing that other people deal with situations the way you do or perceive people the same way. Even if it's a book with a heavy theme that I can't actually relate to, I still enjoy flipping through it. Granted, they're fictional people, but there's more realism there than any other genre so I think it still counts! (haha) Contemporary books don't have the frills of other genres (e.g. fantasy, paranormal, and dystopia) so it allows me to focus on the human emotions prominent in the book. However, no matter how much I love the genre, it sometimes becomes monotonous, especially when you read one after another. Simply put: frills - too much; lack of frills - boring. I think I need to balance out my selections (and the order in which I read them) to solve this.

Now for dilemma 2 of 2: I don't have enough books! I claim to love contemporary yet I don't have much of it in my shelf! I think the fantasy books outnumber the contemporary (and every other genre). It's just that whenever I shop for books, it's not the first thing I take to the checkout counter (reason: see dilemma 1). It's not like I don't want to buy/read them. I just don't know which one will be worth my money. BUY ALL THE BOOKS! ...LOL no I have bills to pay. *sigh* Which is why I choose my books carefully!

So here's where you come in. I want contemporary books for February because "LOVE MONTH" (haha........no) I prefer young adult but if you have recommendations that fall under the adult age bracket, feel free to share it! It doesn't even have to be romance! I want to find my next favorite contemporary read and I think YOU can help me out. *points. winks.* Super excited to add new books to my shelf! :D

1/24/2016

Time for another round of audiobook adventures and this time I present to you *drum rolls* YES PLEASE BY AMY POEHLER!

A bit of warning: I had a full MUG of coffee before writing this so I am very much !!!!!!!!!!!!-ed up.

I've been a fan of SNL since I was in highschool and one of my favorite actors on the show is Amy Poehler. So when she wrote a book, I knew I had to have it. I'm the kind of fan girl who supports her favorites in obsessive ways and for Amy, I bought two copies of the book: one in audio format and one in hardbound. Yes, I already have a hardbound of Yes Please (and it's soooo pretty! Pics later!) but I couldn't resist getting an audiobook as well especially since Amy herself narrated it along with some notable people. I feel like I'm getting a premium on my spending. Anyone else who feel the same? Show of hands?

Anyway! As per usual, I finished the audiobook in the car. But this time I listened to it in a span of months, on several occasions. I didn't finish it in one week like I did with Fangirl. I got this before Fangirl and back then, for some reason, it didn't occur to me that I could plug my phone to my car radio and play audiobooks. So I tried listening while doing chores, running errands, sitting in the backseat of a van full of people en route to a vacation destination. In short, I was very distracted. I couldn't finish it as quickly as I hoped to so I gave up on it for a while. Until recently. Because I discovered I can listen while driving. And it was awesome. (!!!)

1/20/2016

Here lies Unteachable, the new adult novel that stressed the shit out of me.

I would totally write that on the book's gravestone if I buried it like how Joey of FRIENDS stuffs The Shining in his freezer whenever he got to the scary parts

I'm totally kidding. Or not.

Unteachable is not like most of your usual new adult novels (save for the many many sex in each chapter... but I'll get to that later). For starters, the main character Maise is... colorful. She's headstrong but a bit fragile and scared on the inside. She can be crass but she's also delicate. She's a contradiction of a lot of things but surprisingly, it all works. You know how there are a lot of NA characters who pretend to be good but are actually hypocrites? Nope, Maise isn't like that. She fearlessly owns up to who she is or what she does, even if she can be a class A bitch lots of times. It's refreshing, especially in a new adult novel.

I think, with everything going on in the book, Maise's realness made for a great anchor in a book filled with passion, romance, and drama. There was a lot of that ~new adult flare~ to lengthen the plot but what made me interested in all of it was our protagonist. You don't need too much realism in a book but at least have some form of it to keep the readers glued til the end. In this book, it was Maise and the way she took everything in and reacted on/to them. Am I making sense? I HOPE I AM.

Not a lot of people know this about me, but my top two favorite tropes are: 1) faux-relationships turning real and 2) teacher-student relationships. (You may judge me. I give you permission.) The latter being, quite frankly, the main reason why I picked this book up. Much to my disappointment though, the build up was lacking. It started so fast and kind of stalled in the middle and went quickly again towards the end. There was none of the excitement brought about by a budding (forbidden) relationship. It's like hiding was just so easy for them! I didn't feel any real threat to their relationship except for the school diva threatening to tell on them but she just seemed like a scapegoat towards the end.

1/12/2016

Yesterday marked the first time I finished an audiobook. Yes, folks, it is a big deal. See, last year I went on and signed up for Audible. I forgot why exactly I did it. I think it was because I saw the app on my tablet (it was new at that time) and I decided to just go for it. First month was free, right? It was enticing! But after a few months I realized the membership fee's on top of my would-be purchases was burning a hole in me pocket. This is an expensive hobby.

Fangirl is one of my first purchases on Audible. I already read the book, not to mention I own three different editions of it, but somehow I just knew in my heart that I needed an audiobook copy of it to add to my collection. Now, I wasn't sure I wanted to re-read it again in this version (because I don't re-read books to begin with) but thanks to Manila traffic, I went on and began listening to it one Monday morning on the way to work.

I'll be honest: I didn't like the narrator at first. I think her voice threw me off in the beginning. But I kept listening. And listening. And listening. I got to work and realized, wow. I actually listened while driving. It's not my first go at the whole audiobook thing but this is certainly the first time I was able to fully comprehend what I was listening to. (It was such a struggle with To Kill A Mockingbird and Girl on The Train) Perhaps it was because I was left with only two tasks to focus on: to drive and to listen. Guess it works like a radio show? Anyway, I was happy to know that I could listen to an audiobook and possibly finish it.

And I did, after 6 working days. I only ever listened to it in the car, going to work and back home. I managed to finish an almost 13-hour long audiobook in SIX working days. That's how bad traffic here is. (Not the point)

1/04/2016

Let's get one thing straight: I loved The Selection series. I loved it more for its entertainment factor than the entirety of the plot. Because let's face it, you won't get much out of it other than feels. (Was that harsh?) So when Kiera Cass announced that the then trilogy had a baby (HEHEHE not her words but I feel awfully proud of myself for saying that) and that the fourth book would be about America and Maxon's daughter, I didn't know how to feel. First off, I asked why? Why continue a story that ended on a good note. Sure, I fantasized about what could have happened after the coronation, but to create a new story centred on their teenage daughter? I don't think I care enough. (But apparently I do because I read the damn book!) Second, I wondered what else could she possibly write about when the first series of books were already running low on a good storyline. I'd like to think that more than the love story, there's a lot more to say about the character growth in the books. And I loved America and Maxon's transformation (although we don't get to see much of Maxon's). However, I couldn't imagine how the same could possibly extend to the fourth bookwithout it being repetitive. Having said that, I think there's still some redeeming factors that helped me get through The Heir and eventually want to read the fifth and final book in The Selection series, The Crown.

1/03/2016

This book is refreshing! Lately, I've been extra stressed at work and I was looking for a fun book. Dreamology was exactly what I needed. Now I'll make this quick because this book is so easy to pitch to anyone, there's no point in writing a very long post about it.

Okay, so long story short, Alice and Max have been dreaming about each other since they were about six years old. The thing is, they've never met before. Until one fateful day, Alice starts her first day in a new school and tadaaaa! Max is in the same class. Turns out, he's not just a boy her subconscious conjured. He's an actual person who apparently dreamed of Alice too growing up. (eeep! FUN!) Together, they search for answers. How is any of it possible? And how they could prevent any more dreams from bleeding into their life? Uhhh, yeah, that's the main conflict by the way — they may or may not be going insane. (but FUN, right?!)

So... I've been gone a while. I'm not going to make excuses, not gonna lie. I was just... too lazy to blog? Between working and lying in bed (because that's the only thing I can do after work. Hah! I'm so sad), I simply did not have the energy to read and/or blog. I can get a few pages in everyday but it usually takes me a loooong while to finish an entire book. Writing a blog post about it after? FEELS LIKE A CHORE!

I'd like to say that's all going to change now. But I won't. Because I don't know what the future holds! (I can get dramatic at times) Seriously though, I can only promise to make a better effort this year. On top of that, I promise to keep it simple. Often times, the only hindrance to me clicking the PUBLISH button is my laughable standards. Yep, like a lot of bloggers out there, I pressure myself. I've said it multiple time: BLOG FOR YOURSELF! But what if your standards are getting to you? Sometimes, even if I'm pretty much done with my short review, I stop and think to myself isn't this a bit too short? Maybe I should do a full review? Are people going to care?! (Yeah, it's not fun being inside my head. It's noisy) This year, I will push myself to click that orange publish button once I'm done with a post. No more second guessing! That's a realistic resolution I can keep.

I also found some bookish resolutions while browsing Twitter and Instagram and I got inspired by them. I plan on tackling one every month. Here they are:

JANUARY: Finish two young adult books I put on hold and never opened again